4th of July

Happy Birthday America! Isn't it great to live in this country. I am truly grateful for the freedom I enjoy. Our family got together with some friends and had great food and fun.

I had the best grilled chicken sandwich. It was so yummy! You start with a bun, add the grilled chicken (marinated in zesty italian dressing), spread herbed cream cheese on the bun, place acacado on the other half of the bun, then for the real treat: add some sliced peaches. It was divine.

Our evening was not without some drama. Most of the kids were sitting in a group watching the fireworks. They were having such a great time...when suddenly a firework shot sidways. They screamed and ran for their lives. The firework had shot right at Benjamin. These are his shorts. Poor little guy! I was a little frantic for about 15 minutes until we checked him out. He was burned on his arm and the back of his leg. Fortunately, his shorts did not burn for very long. I felt so unprepared for something like this. I was so glad that our friends had a whole stash of first aid supplies. Time to get a first aid kit for my car!

You've got to love the smoke bombs! All the kids had a great time running through the smoke.

Brock shows Matthew how properly light a "punk."

I Am Afraid!

Have you ever been afraid of watering a plant? Well...I am, and I'm going to tell you why. This is one of the ferns that hangs on my front porch. I have two of them. I love getting these ferns every Spring. It's a real Southern thing. It seems that everyone around here hangs ferns on their porches.

For the second year in row, cute little birds have built nests in my ferns. Both of them. We love to see the tiny blue eggs in the nests. We have seen the eggs hatch, and the baby birds finally leave the nests.

Here is the scary part. I am afraid to water the ferns. I have a fear that the birds are going to attack me. They fly away when they see me coming, but I can see them watching me from the trees. I just know that the birds think I am going to damage their nests. My ferns might die for lack of water. I begged Brock to water them for me the other night. He MADE me do it (he did go with me,though). He said that I must face my fear. He told me that facing my fear would build character. What a mean husband (I still love him).

Happy Father's Day!

What would Father's Day be like without homemade cards and some of dad's favorite treats.
This year the kids picked out some of Brock's favorite snacks. He got BBQ Pringles, Snickers, Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, and Red Vines. He was so happy to have his favorite junk food all to himself. Actually, because he is such a good dad, he shared his chips.
Brock was double lucky to get a DVD he has been wanting for a while. I got him The Police 20 year reunion concert. He went to the concert in Salt Lake City last summer and had the time of his life. Now he has the concert to watch anytime he wants. We love you Brock! You are the best dad!

Jessica is not a nothing

When Jessica looked at my last post she said, "I am a nothing. I don't do anything." I want everyone to know, especially Jessica, that she is not a nothing. She has so many great talents. Recently, Jessica accompanied me when I sang at enrichment night. I was so proud of her. She is getting so good at the piano. She practices all the time and loves it. I think she is going to hate this picture, but it was the only one I could find of her at the piano. I love you Jessica. You are quite something!

Playin' Sports

Three of my kiddos recently enjoyed playing some sports. I just about killed myself trying to get them to all of their practices. Thanks to Jessica, I was able to leave Ben at baseball while I picked up Matthew at lacrosse.
Ben played baseball for the first time. He did really well. He was the only "lefty" on his team. Most of the time he hit from the coaches pitch, other times he used the "T." He's pictured here with his team. Ben is the one with the blue hat in the bottom left corner.We all loved going to his games to cheer him on.



Lauren had a great volleyball team this year. Her skills have really improved. She is a great setter. Once Lauren nails her overhand serve, there will be no stopping her on the court. She also had a great time with her friend, Kylen, who was also on her team.

Here are some pics of Matthew at lacrosse. He was a little grumpy when I took these pictures. It's not cool to be photographed in front of your team.

My trip to Utah!

I had such a great time in Utah back in April. My niece, Brittany got married. I wish I had a decent picture of her. She made such a beautiful bride. I was so glad to be there and see my mom, and my four brothers and four sisters. It's not often that we are all together.

Here is my Mom with baby Allison. She is the sweetest little girl. I held her for about 45 minutes one night and she didn't make a peep. Amy and Chris are so lucky to have such a pleasant baby girl. Thanks for sharing her!

This is me and my "great" niece, Rachel. My sister Tammy, made these cute dresses for all of the little girls in the wedding party.

Here I am with two of my best friends who happen to be my little sister, Diana, and my niece Niki. I love you beautiful girls. It was so great to see you on this trip.

Slacker

I admit it, I'm a slacker. I actually blog in my head all of the time. I come up with all kinds of things to talk about. I just don't ever actually sit at the computer and write it down. I just haven't felt like it lately.
But here I sit....subbing for an 8th grade math class. The students are all working on their assignment....and I am bored. Fortunately, none of these kids have asked for my help. If they did, I would just refer them to the smart kids in the class. Most of you know that math is not my strong point. I am here to keep order in the classroom. I should mention that several of the students laughed when I introduced myself today. They just love my name. I always get a reaction. Subbing is kind of fun for me. I prefer middle school. All the students come to the classroom on their own. They can go to the bathroom by themselves. They can work independently. I enjoy teasing and talking with the students.
I actually subbed for one of Lauren's classes not too long ago. She asked me to go by another name so that nobody would know that I was her Mom. I introduced myself as "Mrs. Davis." I really tried to be believable. Lauren's friends just didn't buy it. Lauren needs to realize that I'm not so bad. I try to be a pretty cool Mom.... and sub.